A Man of Pleasing, Attractive Personality and was Loved and Admired for his Honest Traits and Character and his Friendly Disposition Which Attracted to Him a Legion of Friends

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The children of Ben and Mary Marbury:
l to r top: John W., Rosa and Robert
bottom: Hardy Joyner and Wiley

That impressive headline is from the obit of my second great grandfather, Hardy Joyner Marbury.

My cousin Betsy recently emailed me this great photo she found of him and his Marbury siblings.

The Marburys are really interesting branch of my tree to research because their lineage can be traced all the way back to Alfred the Great.

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Hardy Joyner Marbury

I had never seen Hardy. To me, he looks a lot like my uncle, Bill Lovelace.  Hardy was the father of my great grandmother, Allie Marbury Brantley who was the mother of my grandmother, Virginia Brantley Lovelace.

Hardy Joyner Marbury was born on May 25, 1872 in Haywood County, TN.

As a young boy, he lived with his parents, Benjamin Franklin and Maggie Yelverton Marbury and siblings on a farm in district four of Haywood County, next door to his mother's parents, Samuel and Ann Yelverton.

His mother died when he was only 12 in 1884 and his father died shortly after that. According to family history, Hardy's father, Ben, was killed by a train while walking down railroad tracks between Jones Station and Allen’s Station in Haywood Co., TN. He was buried in the Zion Baptist Church Cemetery. I am uncertain who raised Hardy and his siblings after their parents deaths.


On August 26, 1893, 19-year-old Hardy Marbury married Sarah Evelena “Lena” Booth. Lena was the daughter of William G. “Billy” Booth and Elishia White.

Hardy and Lena are mentioned in the diary of early Haywood County resident, Sim Cobb:

March 21, 1890

Rained last night and through the day; rolled logs; Willie and J.E. Lott, Albert Cobb, W.T. Cobb, J.F. White, Hardy Marbury, Ed Mitchell, Will Raddle, and Mr. Hunter was the help. pg. 492

April 15, 1890

Rained very much last night and through the day; Hardy Marbury was here today; Ada and Lena got 5 cents worth of chewing gum. pg. 493

“Nicholas Cobb Descendants" by Joe H. Cobb. 

In 1895, at the age of 23, Hardy joined Holly Grove Baptist Church.

In the census of 1900, Hardy was 28 and Lena was 31. Residing with them are their three children, Dennis who was seven, Maggie who was four and Allie who was two. The family owned both their farm and their home and both Hardy and Sarah could read and write.

10 years later, in the census of 1910, they had added a daughter to the family. Mabel was age nine in 1910. The family also had a 16-year-old boarder named John H. Mann.

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Hardy Marbury Obit

Hardy died in 1932 at the age of 59 and was buried at Holly Grove Baptist Church cemetery. His oldest son had died a year earlier and his oldest daughter would die just a year later.

Hardy Marbury Obituary

"Brownsville States Graphic"
March 1932

Mr. Hardy Marbury was born May 25th, 1872 and departed from this life March 2nd, 1932. He was married to Miss Lena Booth, August 26th, 1893.

He professed faith in Christ and united with Holly Grove Baptist church in 1905, later moving his membership to Allen’s Baptist church, living a committed Christian life.

He is survived by his wife and three children, Mrs. Herbert Lee Marbury, Mrs. Willie Brantley of Brownsville, Mrs. Erban Jackson of Jackson. One sister, two brothers and ten grandchildren.

He was a faithful, devoted husband and father. A man of pleasing, attractive personality and was loved and admired for his honest traits and character and his friendly disposition which attracted to him a legion of friends.

Though the inevitable hour has come to him and his soul has winged its flight from the threshold of his earthly home to that Celestial one where he will be forever blessed.

Yet we can always remember him for the life he lived and the sunshine he scattered and the love he possessed within his soul for others.

For all that the master does,
Is done for the best,
For his life has been chosen
Here from all the rest
His work here is o’er,
His battle is won,
The task he attempted here,
Has been done.
His soul has taken refuge,
To that bright shining shore;
Where he will join with
The happy throng forever more.

A FRIEND

Hardy's wife, Lena, lived for many years with her daughter and son-in-law, Allie and Willie Brantley until her death in 1949. My mother, who was nine when Lena died, remembers her as dressing in black, being quite and just sitting in a rocking chair dipping snuff. My mother remembers pulling off limbs of a sweet gum tree for Lena to use to brush her teeth.

For more, visit my Blog Home Page or the Haywood County Line Genealogy Page.